FAQs - listed by category

Please select a topic from the menu on the left to see a list of our FAQs.

A dog trapped in a badger sett
A stray farm animal
Adopting a dog or cat from the RSPCA
Adopting a horse or pony from the RSPCA
An unwanted pet
Animal Welfare Act 2006 codes of practice
Animals in pet shops, boarding kennels, etc.
Are some breeds of dog more aggressive than others?
Bedding for rodents
Bringing pets to the United Kingdom
Can whips be used in a way that it is acceptable?
Care for pets if an owner dies suddenly
Care for pets if an owner is being evicted
Care for pets if an owner is taken into custody
Care for pets when an owner is hospitalised or taken into care
Caring for amphibians and reptiles as non-domestic pets
Caring for birds
Caring for corn snakes
Caring for fish
Caring for lizards
Caring for pet rodents
Caring for pets after you die
Caring for rabbits
Caring for snakes
Caring for tortoises and terrapins
Cats and birds
Chinese (sky) lanterns
Concern about vets bills
Cosmetic surgery on pets
Dartmoor ponies
Docked horse tails
Docking of dogs' tails
Does the shock-absorbing whip cause suffering?
Dog collars
Exercising your dog
Exotic (non-domestic) pets and the Animal Welfare Act
Feeding a pet with a food timer
Feeding a pet with food scraps
Five freedoms for animals
Giving animals as prizes
Guard dogs and the law
Guidelines for fun horse shows
Handbag dogs
Home for Life
How does the RSPCA identify their horses?
How to care for small animals
How to find a lost pet
I am concerned about my horse or pony being stolen, what can I do?
I am thinking of buying a pedigree dog. What should I do?
I have a new child in the family (or on the way). Will my dog become aggressive?
I have a pedigree dog and am now concerned about his/her health and welfare. What should I do?
I have moorland ponies which run in the New Forest, Exmoor and Dartmoor, what can I use to ID them?
I want to breed from my pedigree dog. What should I do?
If a dog bites a person, should it be put to sleep?
If a dog shows signs of aggression towards me, what should I do?
Is it just a pedigree dog problem? What about pedigree cats and other pets?
Keeping birds in small cages
Keeping cats indoors
Keeping cats out of a garden
Keeping different species of fish together
Keeping fish in goldfish bowls
Keeping lots of cats
Leaving dogs on their own
Management and control of the New Forest and its ponies
My dog is aggressive, what should I do?
Overweight pets
Pet owners' responsibility for their pets
Pets and parasites
Pets frightened by fireworks
Problem with a neighbour's barking dog
Should horseracing be banned?
Should the whip be banned in racing?
Stopping your dog barking
Tagging, notching and splitting of ponies' ears instead of hot branding
Taking sick pets to a vet
Tethering horses and ponies
The dangers of leaving a dog in a car on a warm day
The law relating to donkey derbies
Transporting dogs in cars
Using water for animals during a hosepipe ban
What about whip use in other areas of equitation?
What is the legal status of whip use?
What should I do if my breed society requires ponies to be hot branded?
What to do with a cat that might be stray
Where to get help if your dog is aggressive
Why are the current whip rules inadequate?
Why is the RSPCA not opposed to freeze marking?
Why is the RSPCA opposed to hot branding?
Why is the whip use in racing?
Will neutering my dog make it less aggressive?
Worried about a sick pet